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"A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings" -- Earl Wilson
Westwood Blues Testimonials
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"Ding ding ding. You win the wooden donut." - "Crispix Attacks"
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Monday, September 29, 2003
Orange October
Bring on the Fish! Tomorrow is a big day - its the start of the baseball postseason, or as its known here in Dodgerland: Tuesday.*
I'm cautiously optimistic about the Giants chances this October. Part of me says that 2003 is the Giants year. The other part of me says that strange, flukey things can happen in a short series. Just ask the Oakland A's.
My optimism is also tempered by the fact that these are the Giants we're talking about here. This is the same team that broke our hearts in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, ...well you get the idea. Well, in case you don't...1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Of course saying they broke our hearts in 2002 would be like giving up a walk off splash hit to Homerun Jesus and then saying, "...and he, like, hit it." A more accurate description of 2002 would be: they ripped our collective beating hearts out of our bodies, leaving us to die a slow and painful death to the taunts of bandwagon jumping, Dornan loving, tract home building, SUV driving, OC suburbanites. And then a fucking monkey danced on our collective graves.
Anyway, 1962 and 1971 were also painful, but those were a little easier for me to take considering I wasn't alive for them.
I See Teel People
I wouldn't be a Giants fan if I wasn't paranoid about something, so here are some things to worry about.
* The Giants match up well with the Marlins, but the Marlins running game has me concerned. Juan Pierre has 65 steals, Luis Castillo, and Derek Lee have 21 steals apiece and Juan Encarnacion has 19. This combined with the fact that Benito Santiago has thrown out a whopping 18.5% of basestealers has me more concerned about theft than a "loss prevention" coordinator at WalMart.
This won't happen, but I wouldn't mind seeing Torrealba start the game that Ponson starts. Schmidt has good chemistry with Santiago and Woody shuts down the opposition's running game by himself, so I think Torrealba and his excellent 47.5% CS percentage can give the Giants some needed defense at the catcher's position for Game 2.
* Even though he has pitched well in his recent outings, I'm a little concerned about Rueter. 2003 has been Woody's DIPS Vindication Tour, featuring memorable performances in Colorado, LA, and Arizona, and a culminating with a greatest hits tribute to Atlee Hammaker in St. Louis.
* Of course the Marlins have a lot more holes than the Giants, so this may be needless worrying, but like I said, to be a Giants fan is to be a worry wart. Ok, I'm really not *that* paranoid, I just wanted to use the phrase "worry wart," and I don't want to taunt the baseball gods by proclaiming an NLDS victory the day before the division series starts.
Congrats, Richie!
Three cheers for Rich Aurilia for collecting his 1,000th hit on Saturday; all of them coming in a Giants uniform. One thing that makes this October a tiny bit bittersweet is that these could be the final games in an SF uniform for Rich Aurilia, not to mention JT Snow, Benito Santiago, Jose Cruz, Andres Galarraga, and Tim Worrell.
Richie is one of my all time favorite Giants. Not to pat myself on the back too much, but I remember being impressed with him, offensively and defensively, in a game I attended in 1996. After seeing him in person, I knew he was a keeper. Then again, that was also the game where I gave Jim Poole a standing ovation for working out of a tough jam. I thought that nasty curve made him a keeper too. Oops.
Just so I don't end my post on a Jim Poole reference, I should add one final thing - Let's Go GIANTS!
* Fear not, I've already sent royalties to Jay Leno for this joke.
Bring on the Fish! Tomorrow is a big day - its the start of the baseball postseason, or as its known here in Dodgerland: Tuesday.*
I'm cautiously optimistic about the Giants chances this October. Part of me says that 2003 is the Giants year. The other part of me says that strange, flukey things can happen in a short series. Just ask the Oakland A's.
My optimism is also tempered by the fact that these are the Giants we're talking about here. This is the same team that broke our hearts in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, ...well you get the idea. Well, in case you don't...1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Of course saying they broke our hearts in 2002 would be like giving up a walk off splash hit to Homerun Jesus and then saying, "...and he, like, hit it." A more accurate description of 2002 would be: they ripped our collective beating hearts out of our bodies, leaving us to die a slow and painful death to the taunts of bandwagon jumping, Dornan loving, tract home building, SUV driving, OC suburbanites. And then a fucking monkey danced on our collective graves.
Anyway, 1962 and 1971 were also painful, but those were a little easier for me to take considering I wasn't alive for them.
I See Teel People
I wouldn't be a Giants fan if I wasn't paranoid about something, so here are some things to worry about.
* The Giants match up well with the Marlins, but the Marlins running game has me concerned. Juan Pierre has 65 steals, Luis Castillo, and Derek Lee have 21 steals apiece and Juan Encarnacion has 19. This combined with the fact that Benito Santiago has thrown out a whopping 18.5% of basestealers has me more concerned about theft than a "loss prevention" coordinator at WalMart.
This won't happen, but I wouldn't mind seeing Torrealba start the game that Ponson starts. Schmidt has good chemistry with Santiago and Woody shuts down the opposition's running game by himself, so I think Torrealba and his excellent 47.5% CS percentage can give the Giants some needed defense at the catcher's position for Game 2.
* Even though he has pitched well in his recent outings, I'm a little concerned about Rueter. 2003 has been Woody's DIPS Vindication Tour, featuring memorable performances in Colorado, LA, and Arizona, and a culminating with a greatest hits tribute to Atlee Hammaker in St. Louis.
* Of course the Marlins have a lot more holes than the Giants, so this may be needless worrying, but like I said, to be a Giants fan is to be a worry wart. Ok, I'm really not *that* paranoid, I just wanted to use the phrase "worry wart," and I don't want to taunt the baseball gods by proclaiming an NLDS victory the day before the division series starts.
Congrats, Richie!
Three cheers for Rich Aurilia for collecting his 1,000th hit on Saturday; all of them coming in a Giants uniform. One thing that makes this October a tiny bit bittersweet is that these could be the final games in an SF uniform for Rich Aurilia, not to mention JT Snow, Benito Santiago, Jose Cruz, Andres Galarraga, and Tim Worrell.
Richie is one of my all time favorite Giants. Not to pat myself on the back too much, but I remember being impressed with him, offensively and defensively, in a game I attended in 1996. After seeing him in person, I knew he was a keeper. Then again, that was also the game where I gave Jim Poole a standing ovation for working out of a tough jam. I thought that nasty curve made him a keeper too. Oops.
Just so I don't end my post on a Jim Poole reference, I should add one final thing - Let's Go GIANTS!
* Fear not, I've already sent royalties to Jay Leno for this joke.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
GOAL!
During today's Giants-Astros game, hockey announcer Gary Thorne and Jeff Brantley drove me nuts.
Both Thorne and Brantley trotted out the tired baseball cliche that the Giants owe it to the Cubs to play their regulars and do their darndest to win today's game.
The Giants don't "owe" the Cubs anything. If they owe anything to anybody they owe their long suffering fans and their players the best possible shot at a long post season run. If Felipe Alou believes that resting his regulars in a day game after a night game late in the season will help the starters be more effective in the postseason, then by all means the starters shouldn't play.
The Cubs began the day ahead of Houston in the loss column. All the Cubs have to do is win out and they're in the playoffs regardless of what the Astros do.
Furthermore, the Cubs were undeniably delighted that Jerome Williams was given an extra day of rest and pitched against the Astros on Monday instead of against the Dodgers on Sunday.
And, were it not for a late inning Houston rally, theGiants Grizzlies would've beaten Oswalt and the 'stros anyway.
So there you have it, Thorne. No go back to doing what you do best - having an on air orgasm every time a goal is scored on National Hockey Night.
EY
In my last post, I praised Sabes for acquiring Matt Herges. Being the Fair and Balanced® blogger that I am, its time to evaluate the acquisition of Eric Young. The aforementioned Young has done pretty much nothing for the Giants.
Eric Young - .210/.306/.242 with 2 SB and 5 CS in 62 ABs for the Giants.
When you have a lower OPS than Neifarious Perez, that is not a good sign. Of course, Young's levels of suckitude with the Giants doesn't mean a whole lot, considering the Giants only gave up a fringe prospect to get him. And its not like he'll be starting games in the postseason. Its just that he's been bad. Just sayin' is all.
Coming Full Circle
I was fortunate enough to witness history this weekend at Chavez Ravine. Years from now I can imagine this historic event will be met with the same skepticism that I displayed upon hearing the news of the Neifi Perez homerun. But this time, I'll be the one sending the eyewitness accounts to a disbelieving blogger.
Hey, I wanted to write in to tell you that I really enjoy "Waiting for Nikolai." Anyway, I can tell you that Neifi Perez did indeed have two walks (in consecutive plate appearances, no less) in a game way back on September 21, 2003. I know its hard to believe, but I saw it with my own two eyes.
Neifi himself even realized the historical significance of his two walk game. Today, he sent his game used cleats, bat, and batting gloves from that day directly to the Hall of Fame.
During today's Giants-Astros game, hockey announcer Gary Thorne and Jeff Brantley drove me nuts.
Both Thorne and Brantley trotted out the tired baseball cliche that the Giants owe it to the Cubs to play their regulars and do their darndest to win today's game.
The Giants don't "owe" the Cubs anything. If they owe anything to anybody they owe their long suffering fans and their players the best possible shot at a long post season run. If Felipe Alou believes that resting his regulars in a day game after a night game late in the season will help the starters be more effective in the postseason, then by all means the starters shouldn't play.
The Cubs began the day ahead of Houston in the loss column. All the Cubs have to do is win out and they're in the playoffs regardless of what the Astros do.
Furthermore, the Cubs were undeniably delighted that Jerome Williams was given an extra day of rest and pitched against the Astros on Monday instead of against the Dodgers on Sunday.
And, were it not for a late inning Houston rally, the
So there you have it, Thorne. No go back to doing what you do best - having an on air orgasm every time a goal is scored on National Hockey Night.
EY
In my last post, I praised Sabes for acquiring Matt Herges. Being the Fair and Balanced® blogger that I am, its time to evaluate the acquisition of Eric Young. The aforementioned Young has done pretty much nothing for the Giants.
Eric Young - .210/.306/.242 with 2 SB and 5 CS in 62 ABs for the Giants.
When you have a lower OPS than Neifarious Perez, that is not a good sign. Of course, Young's levels of suckitude with the Giants doesn't mean a whole lot, considering the Giants only gave up a fringe prospect to get him. And its not like he'll be starting games in the postseason. Its just that he's been bad. Just sayin' is all.
Coming Full Circle
I was fortunate enough to witness history this weekend at Chavez Ravine. Years from now I can imagine this historic event will be met with the same skepticism that I displayed upon hearing the news of the Neifi Perez homerun. But this time, I'll be the one sending the eyewitness accounts to a disbelieving blogger.
Hey, I wanted to write in to tell you that I really enjoy "Waiting for Nikolai." Anyway, I can tell you that Neifi Perez did indeed have two walks (in consecutive plate appearances, no less) in a game way back on September 21, 2003. I know its hard to believe, but I saw it with my own two eyes.
Neifi himself even realized the historical significance of his two walk game. Today, he sent his game used cleats, bat, and batting gloves from that day directly to the Hall of Fame.
|
Monday, September 22, 2003
Homerun Jesus
If you've been reading this site for even a couple of weeks, you've probably realized that I like to talk about Barry Bonds. Barry is my favorite baseball player of all time. Since he is my favorite player, I try to absorb as many Bonds articles that I can get my hands on.
The vast majority of media articles about Bonds can be put into three categories - 1) Bonds is a jackass. Yawn. 2) Bonds' career is like a greek tragedy - he's immensely talented but his hubris is his fatal flaw. Overdone. 3) Bonds is really, really good and here are some numbers to show how good he is. Cool, but also a bit overdone.
I bring all this up because Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald wrote a profoundly eloquent and unique article about Barry that really captures the puzzle of Barry Bonds better than anything I've ever read.
I thought about posting some excepts here, but then I realized that doing so would be like chopping up a Monet and then showing off two square inches of it. It really is that good. Trust me, its a great read.
And He Hates the Dodgers too!
Shifting gears a quite a bit - its time to salute Matt Herges, who has been a very effective reliever for the Giants. He has a 2.53 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .573 OPSA in 32 IP for the Giants. Here's how Herges stacks up against some of the other relievers who were acquired near the trading deadline for prospects:
Matt Herges...32 IP/2.53 ERA/.573 OPSA
Scott Williamson...18IP/7.00 ERA/.743 OPSA
Ugueth Urbina...34.3 IP/1.57 ERA/.552 OPSA
Mike Williams...22.0 IP/5.32 ERA/.668 OPSA
Scott Schoeneweis...25.0IP/4.68 ERA/.707 OPSA
Dan Miceli...26.1 IP/2.05 ERA/.594 OPSA
I only included pitchers with at least 18.0 IP with their new teams. This helped reduce sample size issues a bit (although a 2 month evaluation period, by definition, is a small sample regardless of how many innings they've pitched) and it also helped me cherry pick to illustrate my point that Herges has been nearly as effective as Ugueth Urbina and more effective than Mike Williams, Scott Williamson, and Scott Schoeneweis, all of whom cost quite a bit more than Herges did.
Stadium Stupidity Indeed
If you're interested in training for a marathon, I'd suggest the best way of conditioning yourself is to be a ball boy for the Dodgers. Alex, the ball boy along the rightfield stands, gets quite a work out sprinting on and off the field to collect beachballs, paper airlplanes, food, drinks, small children, and other debris that rains down from the stands.
On Friday night, Alex ran onto the field to collect a paper airplane on the warning track. He headed off the field only to make a u-turn back to the outfield to collect more debris. He collect said debris and headed off the field again, only to have to run to right field, again, to clean up a drink that some retarded baboon in the Pavillion threw at Jose Cruz, Jr. Incidentally, the cup missed Cruz by about 15 feet. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Steve Sax was the culprit.
Anyway, the main point of this rant is to ask the rhetorical question - (hyperbole alert!) why do Dodgers fans treat their stadium like a trash can? I know Angelenos are used to using their city as their own personal toilet, but they should draw the line at trashing such a nice facility. I mean Dodger Stadium is one of the few aesthetically pleasing sites in this damn town. Do Dodger fans go to Mann's Chinese Theater and take a shit on the sidewalk?
I should give Dodger fans credit for giving Alex the ball boy a nice round of applause for his efforts at cleaning the field. That ovation was well deserved. After all, Alex is having a better year than Shawn Green.
If you've been reading this site for even a couple of weeks, you've probably realized that I like to talk about Barry Bonds. Barry is my favorite baseball player of all time. Since he is my favorite player, I try to absorb as many Bonds articles that I can get my hands on.
The vast majority of media articles about Bonds can be put into three categories - 1) Bonds is a jackass. Yawn. 2) Bonds' career is like a greek tragedy - he's immensely talented but his hubris is his fatal flaw. Overdone. 3) Bonds is really, really good and here are some numbers to show how good he is. Cool, but also a bit overdone.
I bring all this up because Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald wrote a profoundly eloquent and unique article about Barry that really captures the puzzle of Barry Bonds better than anything I've ever read.
I thought about posting some excepts here, but then I realized that doing so would be like chopping up a Monet and then showing off two square inches of it. It really is that good. Trust me, its a great read.
And He Hates the Dodgers too!
Shifting gears a quite a bit - its time to salute Matt Herges, who has been a very effective reliever for the Giants. He has a 2.53 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .573 OPSA in 32 IP for the Giants. Here's how Herges stacks up against some of the other relievers who were acquired near the trading deadline for prospects:
Matt Herges...32 IP/2.53 ERA/.573 OPSA
Scott Williamson...18IP/7.00 ERA/.743 OPSA
Ugueth Urbina...34.3 IP/1.57 ERA/.552 OPSA
Mike Williams...22.0 IP/5.32 ERA/.668 OPSA
Scott Schoeneweis...25.0IP/4.68 ERA/.707 OPSA
Dan Miceli...26.1 IP/2.05 ERA/.594 OPSA
I only included pitchers with at least 18.0 IP with their new teams. This helped reduce sample size issues a bit (although a 2 month evaluation period, by definition, is a small sample regardless of how many innings they've pitched) and it also helped me cherry pick to illustrate my point that Herges has been nearly as effective as Ugueth Urbina and more effective than Mike Williams, Scott Williamson, and Scott Schoeneweis, all of whom cost quite a bit more than Herges did.
Stadium Stupidity Indeed
If you're interested in training for a marathon, I'd suggest the best way of conditioning yourself is to be a ball boy for the Dodgers. Alex, the ball boy along the rightfield stands, gets quite a work out sprinting on and off the field to collect beachballs, paper airlplanes, food, drinks, small children, and other debris that rains down from the stands.
On Friday night, Alex ran onto the field to collect a paper airplane on the warning track. He headed off the field only to make a u-turn back to the outfield to collect more debris. He collect said debris and headed off the field again, only to have to run to right field, again, to clean up a drink that some retarded baboon in the Pavillion threw at Jose Cruz, Jr. Incidentally, the cup missed Cruz by about 15 feet. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Steve Sax was the culprit.
Anyway, the main point of this rant is to ask the rhetorical question - (hyperbole alert!) why do Dodgers fans treat their stadium like a trash can? I know Angelenos are used to using their city as their own personal toilet, but they should draw the line at trashing such a nice facility. I mean Dodger Stadium is one of the few aesthetically pleasing sites in this damn town. Do Dodger fans go to Mann's Chinese Theater and take a shit on the sidewalk?
I should give Dodger fans credit for giving Alex the ball boy a nice round of applause for his efforts at cleaning the field. That ovation was well deserved. After all, Alex is having a better year than Shawn Green.
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Saturday, September 20, 2003
Let's Go Bucs!
In my last post I covered which teams I'd like to see the Giants play in the NLDS. Now lets cover the team that scares me.
I do not want to play the Cubs. Their 1-4 starters: Prior, Wood, Zambrano, and Clement are as good as any 1-4 among playoff contenders. Throw in the facts that the G-men are 2-4 against the Cubs this year and SF struggles against RHP (.258/.330/.403), despite their "increased athleticism," and the Cubs are a very scary opponent.
After looking at the Cubs starters and their lineup one can ask themselves, how is this team not running away with the NL Central? The aforementioned starting staff is very good, and their lineup is pretty decent too. Sosa is Sosa. If you believe in "clutchness," you'd say that Moises Alou is leading the league in clutch created above replacement level.
I could go on and on about why the Cubs look so much better on paper than they do on the field, but rather than analyzing, I'll just say the most logical explanation as to why the Cubs are underachieving and struggling to make the playoffs is because they're the Cubs. Makes sense to me. But, they're still scary.
Eyewitness News
Loyal reader, Robert, an eyewitness to Mark McGwire's historic triple, wrote in to tell me that Mark McGwire did indeed hit a triple. Thanks Robert!
I'm still searching for documented proof of Steve Bono's long touchdown run for the Chiefs.
What, no Photoball Night?
Last night was team poster night at Dodger Stadium. I was worried about contracting an infectious disease from touching the posters, so I didn't grab one.
Anyway, because Dodger fans have the attention span of a twelve year old on speed, they thought it would be a good idea to transform their team posters into paper airplanes and then try to send them flying across the stadium. Apparently, Dodger fans all attended the Hindenburgh School of Aeronautical Design, as most of the airplanes traveled about a foot and then nosedived into the ground. Dodger fans are too irony impaired to realize this, but a plane crashing, nose first, straight into the ground is an absolutely perfect metaphor for the LA Dodgers of the last 15 years.
In my last post I covered which teams I'd like to see the Giants play in the NLDS. Now lets cover the team that scares me.
I do not want to play the Cubs. Their 1-4 starters: Prior, Wood, Zambrano, and Clement are as good as any 1-4 among playoff contenders. Throw in the facts that the G-men are 2-4 against the Cubs this year and SF struggles against RHP (.258/.330/.403), despite their "increased athleticism," and the Cubs are a very scary opponent.
After looking at the Cubs starters and their lineup one can ask themselves, how is this team not running away with the NL Central? The aforementioned starting staff is very good, and their lineup is pretty decent too. Sosa is Sosa. If you believe in "clutchness," you'd say that Moises Alou is leading the league in clutch created above replacement level.
I could go on and on about why the Cubs look so much better on paper than they do on the field, but rather than analyzing, I'll just say the most logical explanation as to why the Cubs are underachieving and struggling to make the playoffs is because they're the Cubs. Makes sense to me. But, they're still scary.
Eyewitness News
Loyal reader, Robert, an eyewitness to Mark McGwire's historic triple, wrote in to tell me that Mark McGwire did indeed hit a triple. Thanks Robert!
I'm still searching for documented proof of Steve Bono's long touchdown run for the Chiefs.
What, no Photoball Night?
Last night was team poster night at Dodger Stadium. I was worried about contracting an infectious disease from touching the posters, so I didn't grab one.
Anyway, because Dodger fans have the attention span of a twelve year old on speed, they thought it would be a good idea to transform their team posters into paper airplanes and then try to send them flying across the stadium. Apparently, Dodger fans all attended the Hindenburgh School of Aeronautical Design, as most of the airplanes traveled about a foot and then nosedived into the ground. Dodger fans are too irony impaired to realize this, but a plane crashing, nose first, straight into the ground is an absolutely perfect metaphor for the LA Dodgers of the last 15 years.
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Thursday, September 18, 2003
Wire to Wire
All hail the 2003 NL West Champs - Your San Francisco Giants!
Woo-hoo!
Looking Ahead
Time to look ahead to potential foes in the NLDS.
I want to play Florida. One of the cool things about last year's post season run was avenging previous post season losses. Nothing can fully erase the painful memories of losing the 1987 NLCS to the Cards (damn you, Candy Maldanado and your stupid, inept slip-n-slide fielding) and getting beat out by the Braves in 1993. However, beating those teams in 2002 made last year's post season a little more special.
Getting swept in 1997 by the Marlins really sucked, to put it mildly. To this day I still get Devon White grand slam nightmares and every time I see Wilson Alvarez pitch, which isn't that often considering he probably attends the Matt Mantei school of conditioning, I want to scream at the TV. A nice tall glass of payback is in order.
A better reason to want to play the Marlins is their left handed heavy pitching staff. The G-men crush lefties to the tune of .289/.351/.484. The Marlins rotation features Dontrelle Willis (a lefty rookie who will likely be very fatigued come playoff time) and Mark Redman, the other southpaw in the rotation.
I know, be careful what you wish for; so I should also say that I wouldn't mind seeing SF play the Astros or the Phils in the phirst round either.
Happy Aniversary, Brian Johnson!
On this date in 1997, Brian Johnson hit a game winning HR in the 12th off Mark Guthrie of the Dodgers. That win tied the Giants with the Fodgers for first in the NL West and the Giants never looked back, clinching the NL West a week and a half later.
We'll always remember that HR, but Rod Beck deserves an award for his performance that day. Facing a bases loaded, no out situation in extra innings, Beck retired Todd Zeile and then got Hall of Famer Eddie Murray to hit into an inning ending double play. Beck pitched three scoreless frames in extra innings that day to set the stage for Johnson's shot in the 12th.
All hail the 2003 NL West Champs - Your San Francisco Giants!
Woo-hoo!
Looking Ahead
Time to look ahead to potential foes in the NLDS.
I want to play Florida. One of the cool things about last year's post season run was avenging previous post season losses. Nothing can fully erase the painful memories of losing the 1987 NLCS to the Cards (damn you, Candy Maldanado and your stupid, inept slip-n-slide fielding) and getting beat out by the Braves in 1993. However, beating those teams in 2002 made last year's post season a little more special.
Getting swept in 1997 by the Marlins really sucked, to put it mildly. To this day I still get Devon White grand slam nightmares and every time I see Wilson Alvarez pitch, which isn't that often considering he probably attends the Matt Mantei school of conditioning, I want to scream at the TV. A nice tall glass of payback is in order.
A better reason to want to play the Marlins is their left handed heavy pitching staff. The G-men crush lefties to the tune of .289/.351/.484. The Marlins rotation features Dontrelle Willis (a lefty rookie who will likely be very fatigued come playoff time) and Mark Redman, the other southpaw in the rotation.
I know, be careful what you wish for; so I should also say that I wouldn't mind seeing SF play the Astros or the Phils in the phirst round either.
Happy Aniversary, Brian Johnson!
On this date in 1997, Brian Johnson hit a game winning HR in the 12th off Mark Guthrie of the Dodgers. That win tied the Giants with the Fodgers for first in the NL West and the Giants never looked back, clinching the NL West a week and a half later.
We'll always remember that HR, but Rod Beck deserves an award for his performance that day. Facing a bases loaded, no out situation in extra innings, Beck retired Todd Zeile and then got Hall of Famer Eddie Murray to hit into an inning ending double play. Beck pitched three scoreless frames in extra innings that day to set the stage for Johnson's shot in the 12th.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Open Buffet
In the past year the Giants have seen a number of starting pitchers pass through their organization. Here's a look at recent former Giants starters.
Last night, Augustus Gloop reached the magical 217 IP mark, automatically triggering his 2004 option for $6.5 MM. Shockingly, immediately after pitching three innings to secure his $6.5MM, Augustus gave up three ERs while only recording one out. He then treated himself to a celebratory postgame meal at Hometown Buffet.
Praise Sabes, he's not our problem anymore.
Russ Ortiz has gotten a great deal of run support and has a nice W-L record for the Braves. His ERA and BBs/9IP are worse this year than they were last year. His OPSA is nearly the same (.676 vs. .675).
Worth repeating - if Sidney Ponson loses to Russ Ortiz in the deciding game of the NLCS, Giants fans will all be in therapy for at least 5 years and we're sending the bill to Brian Sabean.
In Baltimore, Damian Moss has suffered from control problems. This news comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. Moss has been moved to the bullpen. And if he doesn't regain his effectiveness and lose some weight, he could be non-tendered in the offseason.
Kurt Ainsworth has had four pain free bullpen sessions. He'll soon be ready to make his return to the big leagues with the Orioles.
Jesse Foppert is having Tommy John surgery today in Alabama. Obviously, he's still with the Giants organization, but I included him with this list for dramatic effect. Get well soon, Jesse. Go 2005 Giants!
Ryan Jensen's year has been filled with bad news. Jensen lost his spot in the rotation, "strained his back", lost 10 games and pitched very poorly in Fresno, and did not get called up this September. Other than that, his year has been spectacular.
Ask Ned
Baseball Prospectus' Jonah Keri has a great interview with Giants Assistant GM Ned Colletti. I found some of Colletti's answers to be quite surprising, to put it mildly.
One of the Giants flaws is their inability to hit right handed pitching. Keri brought this topic up and Colletti's response was very bizarre.
BP: Does the team take platoon splits into account when putting together the roster every year?
NC: Not really. We concentrated more on being more athletic...
Huh? I know the Sabean administration will never be one that embraces advanced stathead stuff with open arms, but platoon splits are pretty basic stats and you'd think there would be some concern about the Giants inability to hit right handed pitching. I have no idea how "being more athletic" even attempts to solve this problem.
Then on the subject of Neifarious:
BP: What made the Giants believe he was worth that much money?($4.25 over 2 years) Were there no other alternatives out there? Could someone like say, Cody Ransom have done the same job for the league minimum instead?
NC: When we were first in conversations with Neifi, we didn't know what would happen with Kent, or David Bell, and we had players like Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton possibly leaving too. So we really wanted a player who was versatile, who could play a bunch of positions for us to help make up for those losses.
Ok, so you are in a major league front office and your team is likely to lose its 3B, 2B, CF, and RF. Logically, the first person you turn to fill these holes is Neifi Perez, who only plays one of those positions and was statistically the worst everyday player in all of baseball last season while playing in a great hitters park. And on top of that, you drastically over pay him and give him a two year contract. Makes sense.
Lastly, Colletti on the role of statistical research.
BP: What role does statistical research play in the Giants front office?
Colletti: It's part of what we take into consideration, along with scouting reports, and how someone uses their ability. How a player approaches the game, how he approaches life, far outweighs what the stat line looks like. When you see a minor league pitcher called up, you trust your development people and your scouts. How the pitcher's numbers were accumulated isn't as important as talent, makeup, how he pitches in certain situations.
One could probably do a Gleeman length® post on the different player evaluation methods or maybe just write a NY Times best seller on the topic. Since my lunch hour is winding down, I'll just briefly, and vaguely, say that I partly agree with Colletti that there should be a balance between statistical evaluations and traditional "tools" scouting.
For example, if you were to judge Joe Nathan based soley on his very unimpressive minor league stats, you probably would've given up on him long ago. The Giants apparently liked his makeup and even a non-scout such as myself can tell you that Nathan has great stuff. The Giants thought he was a keeper and it turns out they were right, despite the fact that Nathan's minor league stats don't predict he'd become a pitcher with a .582 OPSA.
Conversely, there are maasillions of players with great tools/stuff/talent/makeup who never achieve success in the majors.
I can't say that I completely agree with the Giants methodology for evaluating players (any methodology which deems Neifarious as anything but worthless is inherently flawed and ignoring platoon splits is bizarre) but they do have good track record for producing pitchers (Nathan, Williams, Ainsworth, Correia) and making good deadline deals, so overall I think Sabean, Colletti, Tidrow, LLP is a very good front office.
Instant Replay
I was out of town this weekend and upon my return I looked at the box scores from the weekend and I noticed an error. Neifi Perez hit a HR? At Pac Bell? Seriously?
I haven't seen footage of the alleged event, so I still refuse to believe that it actually happened.
This is kind of like the Steve Bono 70+ year TD run of a few years ago and that Mark McGwire triple in the late nineties. I heard about those, but I didn't actually see them, so I refuse to believe that those events actually happened.
Then I remembered that the Giants played Seligula's Brews this weekend and that Neifi's alleged HR was probably off of Bronswell Patrick, so I guess I'll believe it. But I still want to see video proof.
In the past year the Giants have seen a number of starting pitchers pass through their organization. Here's a look at recent former Giants starters.
Last night, Augustus Gloop reached the magical 217 IP mark, automatically triggering his 2004 option for $6.5 MM. Shockingly, immediately after pitching three innings to secure his $6.5MM, Augustus gave up three ERs while only recording one out. He then treated himself to a celebratory postgame meal at Hometown Buffet.
Praise Sabes, he's not our problem anymore.
Russ Ortiz has gotten a great deal of run support and has a nice W-L record for the Braves. His ERA and BBs/9IP are worse this year than they were last year. His OPSA is nearly the same (.676 vs. .675).
Worth repeating - if Sidney Ponson loses to Russ Ortiz in the deciding game of the NLCS, Giants fans will all be in therapy for at least 5 years and we're sending the bill to Brian Sabean.
In Baltimore, Damian Moss has suffered from control problems. This news comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. Moss has been moved to the bullpen. And if he doesn't regain his effectiveness and lose some weight, he could be non-tendered in the offseason.
Kurt Ainsworth has had four pain free bullpen sessions. He'll soon be ready to make his return to the big leagues with the Orioles.
Jesse Foppert is having Tommy John surgery today in Alabama. Obviously, he's still with the Giants organization, but I included him with this list for dramatic effect. Get well soon, Jesse. Go 2005 Giants!
Ryan Jensen's year has been filled with bad news. Jensen lost his spot in the rotation, "strained his back", lost 10 games and pitched very poorly in Fresno, and did not get called up this September. Other than that, his year has been spectacular.
Ask Ned
Baseball Prospectus' Jonah Keri has a great interview with Giants Assistant GM Ned Colletti. I found some of Colletti's answers to be quite surprising, to put it mildly.
One of the Giants flaws is their inability to hit right handed pitching. Keri brought this topic up and Colletti's response was very bizarre.
BP: Does the team take platoon splits into account when putting together the roster every year?
NC: Not really. We concentrated more on being more athletic...
Huh? I know the Sabean administration will never be one that embraces advanced stathead stuff with open arms, but platoon splits are pretty basic stats and you'd think there would be some concern about the Giants inability to hit right handed pitching. I have no idea how "being more athletic" even attempts to solve this problem.
Then on the subject of Neifarious:
BP: What made the Giants believe he was worth that much money?($4.25 over 2 years) Were there no other alternatives out there? Could someone like say, Cody Ransom have done the same job for the league minimum instead?
NC: When we were first in conversations with Neifi, we didn't know what would happen with Kent, or David Bell, and we had players like Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton possibly leaving too. So we really wanted a player who was versatile, who could play a bunch of positions for us to help make up for those losses.
Ok, so you are in a major league front office and your team is likely to lose its 3B, 2B, CF, and RF. Logically, the first person you turn to fill these holes is Neifi Perez, who only plays one of those positions and was statistically the worst everyday player in all of baseball last season while playing in a great hitters park. And on top of that, you drastically over pay him and give him a two year contract. Makes sense.
Lastly, Colletti on the role of statistical research.
BP: What role does statistical research play in the Giants front office?
Colletti: It's part of what we take into consideration, along with scouting reports, and how someone uses their ability. How a player approaches the game, how he approaches life, far outweighs what the stat line looks like. When you see a minor league pitcher called up, you trust your development people and your scouts. How the pitcher's numbers were accumulated isn't as important as talent, makeup, how he pitches in certain situations.
One could probably do a Gleeman length® post on the different player evaluation methods or maybe just write a NY Times best seller on the topic. Since my lunch hour is winding down, I'll just briefly, and vaguely, say that I partly agree with Colletti that there should be a balance between statistical evaluations and traditional "tools" scouting.
For example, if you were to judge Joe Nathan based soley on his very unimpressive minor league stats, you probably would've given up on him long ago. The Giants apparently liked his makeup and even a non-scout such as myself can tell you that Nathan has great stuff. The Giants thought he was a keeper and it turns out they were right, despite the fact that Nathan's minor league stats don't predict he'd become a pitcher with a .582 OPSA.
Conversely, there are maasillions of players with great tools/stuff/talent/makeup who never achieve success in the majors.
I can't say that I completely agree with the Giants methodology for evaluating players (any methodology which deems Neifarious as anything but worthless is inherently flawed and ignoring platoon splits is bizarre) but they do have good track record for producing pitchers (Nathan, Williams, Ainsworth, Correia) and making good deadline deals, so overall I think Sabean, Colletti, Tidrow, LLP is a very good front office.
Instant Replay
I was out of town this weekend and upon my return I looked at the box scores from the weekend and I noticed an error. Neifi Perez hit a HR? At Pac Bell? Seriously?
I haven't seen footage of the alleged event, so I still refuse to believe that it actually happened.
This is kind of like the Steve Bono 70+ year TD run of a few years ago and that Mark McGwire triple in the late nineties. I heard about those, but I didn't actually see them, so I refuse to believe that those events actually happened.
Then I remembered that the Giants played Seligula's Brews this weekend and that Neifi's alleged HR was probably off of Bronswell Patrick, so I guess I'll believe it. But I still want to see video proof.
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Thursday, September 11, 2003
Magic 8
The G-men rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Pod People last night. This win coupled with the fifteenandahalfbacks' come from behind victory over the Dodgers reduced the Giants magic number to 8.
The Padres have become my favorite non-Giants NL West team this year. They play like the Bad News Bears against SF (3-11), but the Pads play well against the Dodgers (9-3) and Arizona (10-9).
The Pod People have played so poorly against the Giants, they've even manged to lose to Damien, Lord of the Vanlandingham Pitching Underworld. Twice.
One final note - it was very cool to hear the "He's a Bum" chant on TV last night. Giants fans rule.
King for a Day
Three cheers for King Kaufman of Salon.com for his column examining the football and baseball blogging worlds. King raises an interesting question - why are there so many baseball weblogs and so few football blogs? Included in the article are a couple of quotes from yours truly. A great read - go there now.
Dear Peter Magowan,
Back in the Candlestick days, the Giants ran a promotion where all fans who sat through an extra inning game played at night at the Stick received a "Croix de Candelstick." This was a great idea!
Similarly, I think the Giants should run a promotion like the "Croix de Candelstick" in 2004. Hmmm, how should I say this tactfully but respectfully.
On May 27, 2003 Giants fans had to sit through the equivalent of the horrors of an extra inning night game at Candelstick. I demand a Croix de Neifi be awarded to everyone in attendance that night! 13 innings and Neifarious played shortstop for ALL 13 innings.
For every extra inning game in which Neifarious Perez plays every inning, I think its only right to reward the brave souls in the stands with a Croix de Neifi. The button could have Neifi's picture on it with a bright red "0-6" superimposed across his face. Or maybe just a picture of a sinkhole; whichever is easier. Just a thought.
Best wishes,
Doug
Editor’s Note: Yes, I am a patronizing smart ass but I’m not that much of a patronizing smart ass to actually send this to the Giants. That’s what fanfeedback@azdiamondbacks.mlb.com is for. Not that I’ve ever shared my thoughts with them before.
The G-men rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Pod People last night. This win coupled with the fifteenandahalfbacks' come from behind victory over the Dodgers reduced the Giants magic number to 8.
The Padres have become my favorite non-Giants NL West team this year. They play like the Bad News Bears against SF (3-11), but the Pads play well against the Dodgers (9-3) and Arizona (10-9).
The Pod People have played so poorly against the Giants, they've even manged to lose to Damien, Lord of the Vanlandingham Pitching Underworld. Twice.
One final note - it was very cool to hear the "He's a Bum" chant on TV last night. Giants fans rule.
King for a Day
Three cheers for King Kaufman of Salon.com for his column examining the football and baseball blogging worlds. King raises an interesting question - why are there so many baseball weblogs and so few football blogs? Included in the article are a couple of quotes from yours truly. A great read - go there now.
Dear Peter Magowan,
Back in the Candlestick days, the Giants ran a promotion where all fans who sat through an extra inning game played at night at the Stick received a "Croix de Candelstick." This was a great idea!
Similarly, I think the Giants should run a promotion like the "Croix de Candelstick" in 2004. Hmmm, how should I say this tactfully but respectfully.
On May 27, 2003 Giants fans had to sit through the equivalent of the horrors of an extra inning night game at Candelstick. I demand a Croix de Neifi be awarded to everyone in attendance that night! 13 innings and Neifarious played shortstop for ALL 13 innings.
For every extra inning game in which Neifarious Perez plays every inning, I think its only right to reward the brave souls in the stands with a Croix de Neifi. The button could have Neifi's picture on it with a bright red "0-6" superimposed across his face. Or maybe just a picture of a sinkhole; whichever is easier. Just a thought.
Best wishes,
Doug
Editor’s Note: Yes, I am a patronizing smart ass but I’m not that much of a patronizing smart ass to actually send this to the Giants. That’s what fanfeedback@azdiamondbacks.mlb.com is for. Not that I’ve ever shared my thoughts with them before.
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Monday, September 08, 2003
Operation: Get Healthy
With the start of the football season, I can't help but see similarities between this September for the Giants and the late Decembers/early Januarys during the glory days of the 49ers. In fact, during Barry's next home run trot, I'm half expecting to see Guy McIntyre leap out of the stands and take out a few infielders to clear a path for a Superman sweep.
Like the 49ers of the late 80s/early 90s, its late in the year and the Giants have the division wrapped up and now the team has but two goals: staying sharp and getting healthy. Felipe Alou conceded that getting home field advantage would be nice, but resting players would be a priority.
I'd like to see some overworked players get some rest, namely Jose Cruz, Marquis Grissom, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Joe Nathan.
It would also be good to see Kirk Rueter work out what ever it is that he needs to work out and to see Ray Durham get healthy at long last. Durham's hamstring injury has been somewhat frustrating considering he's been trying to recover from said injury for over a month. Is Marvin Benard his new personal trainer or something? Get healthy, Ray.
Dear Barry,
I've got this problem about swinging at every single pitch in my space time continuum. In the dirt, a foot outside, four inches off the ground, don't matter. I'm hacking. There is a pitcher in the midst of a Mantei-meltdown and he can't throw a strike to save his life. Any advice?
HACKING IN SF
Gentle Reader,
Yeah, take two strikes and call me in the morning.
Barry
Razing Arizona
The thirteenbacks pretty much needed a sweep this weekend to save their playoff lives. Needless to say they didn't get a sweep and Saturday's loss was, for all intents and purposes, the final nail in the coffin. Per Baseball Prospectus, Arizona's chances of making the playoffs are now less than 1%.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Arizona thirteenbacks' playoff hopes have gone up in a puff of gossamer smoke that pennant dreams are made of®.*
All aboard the purple pin striped train of irrelevancy. Next stop, the Valley of the Scum.
Now is a good time for the thirteenbacks to start making their off season plans. Curt Schilling could set up shop at an arts and crafts booth at the Phoenix Arts and Whine festival and show kids how to re-assemble some of the Questec machines that he has destroyed. Shea Hillenbrand and Luis Gonzalez could get jobs at Jerry's Famous Deli here in Westwood. Jerry's is always looking for a few good butchers. The offseason is as good a time as any for Jerry Colangelo to finally get trapped in an elevator with Rob Dibble. And Rick Sutcliffe.
But no, I'm not bitter or anything that they let Matt Williams go and that they booed Barry.
* "Up in a puff of gossamer smoke that pennant dreams are made of"® is a registered trademark of Bill Conlin. Used by permission.
With the start of the football season, I can't help but see similarities between this September for the Giants and the late Decembers/early Januarys during the glory days of the 49ers. In fact, during Barry's next home run trot, I'm half expecting to see Guy McIntyre leap out of the stands and take out a few infielders to clear a path for a Superman sweep.
Like the 49ers of the late 80s/early 90s, its late in the year and the Giants have the division wrapped up and now the team has but two goals: staying sharp and getting healthy. Felipe Alou conceded that getting home field advantage would be nice, but resting players would be a priority.
I'd like to see some overworked players get some rest, namely Jose Cruz, Marquis Grissom, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Joe Nathan.
It would also be good to see Kirk Rueter work out what ever it is that he needs to work out and to see Ray Durham get healthy at long last. Durham's hamstring injury has been somewhat frustrating considering he's been trying to recover from said injury for over a month. Is Marvin Benard his new personal trainer or something? Get healthy, Ray.
Dear Barry,
I've got this problem about swinging at every single pitch in my space time continuum. In the dirt, a foot outside, four inches off the ground, don't matter. I'm hacking. There is a pitcher in the midst of a Mantei-meltdown and he can't throw a strike to save his life. Any advice?
HACKING IN SF
Gentle Reader,
Yeah, take two strikes and call me in the morning.
Barry
Razing Arizona
The thirteenbacks pretty much needed a sweep this weekend to save their playoff lives. Needless to say they didn't get a sweep and Saturday's loss was, for all intents and purposes, the final nail in the coffin. Per Baseball Prospectus, Arizona's chances of making the playoffs are now less than 1%.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Arizona thirteenbacks' playoff hopes have gone up in a puff of gossamer smoke that pennant dreams are made of®.*
All aboard the purple pin striped train of irrelevancy. Next stop, the Valley of the Scum.
Now is a good time for the thirteenbacks to start making their off season plans. Curt Schilling could set up shop at an arts and crafts booth at the Phoenix Arts and Whine festival and show kids how to re-assemble some of the Questec machines that he has destroyed. Shea Hillenbrand and Luis Gonzalez could get jobs at Jerry's Famous Deli here in Westwood. Jerry's is always looking for a few good butchers. The offseason is as good a time as any for Jerry Colangelo to finally get trapped in an elevator with Rob Dibble. And Rick Sutcliffe.
But no, I'm not bitter or anything that they let Matt Williams go and that they booed Barry.
* "Up in a puff of gossamer smoke that pennant dreams are made of"® is a registered trademark of Bill Conlin. Used by permission.
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Thursday, September 04, 2003
Bullpen Joy
Watching Tony LaRussa bring in Woody Williams to try and close out a game against the Cubs makes one appreciate how solid the Giants pen has been lately.
Joe Nathan has been particularly outstanding. He picked up his ninth win yesterday and has only allowed 2 ERs since July 4th. Yes, that's 2 ERs in his last 25 IP.
Tim Worrell had a few meltdowns a couple of weeks ago, but he has rebounded nicely and has a solid 2.24 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and .230 BAA on the year.
Matt Herges has also been very effective for the Giants, posting a 2.88 ERA and a .205 BAA. His WHIP of 1.00 is second on the team to Jason Schmidt.
A lot of credit for the bullpen’s recent hot streak should go to the starters, especially Sidney Ponson and Jason Schmidt. Ponson and Schmidt have both consistently pitched deep into games, giving the bullpen much needed rest. If the bullpen mates are not overworked, they pitch well. If they have to bail out Damian Moss and Jesse Foppert on a consistent basis and make boatloads of appearances, they begin to pitch like they’re channeling Jim Poole. It’s as simple as that.
Changing of the Guard
This year the Giants have pretty much handled everyone in their division in head to head action. They are 42-17 against the rest of the NL West and they’ve only lost 4 intra-division home games this year.
In the Sabean era, the Pod people have been the Giants whipping boy. I look for that to change as the Padres move into their new stadium and add players like Brian Giles. Meanwhile the fifteenandahalfbacks have assumed the position as the new whipping boys for the G-men. SF is 13-3 against the fifteenandahalfbacks this year. Going back to last year, the Giants are 22-6 against AZ in their last 28 games.
The Plot Thickens
It seems the Giants are very high on Kevin Correia and have been since last year. Here’s Felipe Alou quoted in today’s Chronicle on a November meeting with the Giants brain trust.
"He's a guy who, even though he only played a half-season of A-ball last year, Brian, Tidrow and Ned were telling me how high they were on him. I heard about Jerome Williams, Jesse Foppert and Kurt Ainsworth, but not Correia, but right away they told me they had this kid who could really throw."
If I was feeling really bold and daring I’d predict that Correia will turn out to be a better pitcher than Ainsworth. But I’m not bold and daring and I refuse to believe that anything of use could possibly come out of Cal Poly. The point remains, Correia is a keeper and he should be fun to watch for the next few years.
Watching Tony LaRussa bring in Woody Williams to try and close out a game against the Cubs makes one appreciate how solid the Giants pen has been lately.
Joe Nathan has been particularly outstanding. He picked up his ninth win yesterday and has only allowed 2 ERs since July 4th. Yes, that's 2 ERs in his last 25 IP.
Tim Worrell had a few meltdowns a couple of weeks ago, but he has rebounded nicely and has a solid 2.24 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and .230 BAA on the year.
Matt Herges has also been very effective for the Giants, posting a 2.88 ERA and a .205 BAA. His WHIP of 1.00 is second on the team to Jason Schmidt.
A lot of credit for the bullpen’s recent hot streak should go to the starters, especially Sidney Ponson and Jason Schmidt. Ponson and Schmidt have both consistently pitched deep into games, giving the bullpen much needed rest. If the bullpen mates are not overworked, they pitch well. If they have to bail out Damian Moss and Jesse Foppert on a consistent basis and make boatloads of appearances, they begin to pitch like they’re channeling Jim Poole. It’s as simple as that.
Changing of the Guard
This year the Giants have pretty much handled everyone in their division in head to head action. They are 42-17 against the rest of the NL West and they’ve only lost 4 intra-division home games this year.
In the Sabean era, the Pod people have been the Giants whipping boy. I look for that to change as the Padres move into their new stadium and add players like Brian Giles. Meanwhile the fifteenandahalfbacks have assumed the position as the new whipping boys for the G-men. SF is 13-3 against the fifteenandahalfbacks this year. Going back to last year, the Giants are 22-6 against AZ in their last 28 games.
The Plot Thickens
It seems the Giants are very high on Kevin Correia and have been since last year. Here’s Felipe Alou quoted in today’s Chronicle on a November meeting with the Giants brain trust.
"He's a guy who, even though he only played a half-season of A-ball last year, Brian, Tidrow and Ned were telling me how high they were on him. I heard about Jerome Williams, Jesse Foppert and Kurt Ainsworth, but not Correia, but right away they told me they had this kid who could really throw."
If I was feeling really bold and daring I’d predict that Correia will turn out to be a better pitcher than Ainsworth. But I’m not bold and daring and I refuse to believe that anything of use could possibly come out of Cal Poly. The point remains, Correia is a keeper and he should be fun to watch for the next few years.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Welcome Home, Barry
It was great to see the fans give Barry an extended, loud ovation when he made his first plate appearance last night. It was a great tribute to a superstar who has been through extremely tough times this year. In a way it was also one final, well deserved ovation for Bobby Bonds, who spent over a third of his life in the Giants organization.
Take notes fourteenandahalfback fans, that is how to welcome back the greatest player of his generation.
As for the game itself, hats off to Kevin Correia for another solid outing. Correia has pitched very well for the Giants in very limited playing time. If Correia can be a productive starter next year it will make the departure of Kurt Ainsworth and the possible departure of Sidney Ponson a little easier to take.
Midseason Form
Speaking of the Ponson trade, Damian Moss hasn't missed a beat with his new team. He's 1-3 with a 4.37 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .283 BAA and has 22 BBs in 35 IP. He's also averaging over 100 pitches per appearance. In his most recent start, Moss threw more balls than strikes.
If Moss had continued to be inconsistent with the Giants, he could've been left off the post season roster and been non-tendered at the end of the year.
Kudos to Brian Sabean for trading Moss when he did and getting something of value in return.
In a semi-related story, Beatagan made a great move the other day, sending Jeff Conine to the Marlins and getting a nice minor league pitcher in return. I bring this up because Conine is signed through 2005 and having a 1B/corner outfielder type signed for the next 2 years means that it is even more likely that the Marlins will non tender Derek Lee at the end of the year. Lee sure would look nice in a Giants uniform next year.
Bitter, Much?
The Giants are on a win streak and the division is wrapped up, so Giants fans really don't have anything substantive to complain, moan, or whine about.
If you're looking for something to be bitter about, join me in still being pissed that the Giants blew a 8 run lead in the 6th inning in a game at Philadelphia on April 26, 1993 and eventually lost the game 9-8.
DAMN YOU GINO MINUTELLI!
It was great to see the fans give Barry an extended, loud ovation when he made his first plate appearance last night. It was a great tribute to a superstar who has been through extremely tough times this year. In a way it was also one final, well deserved ovation for Bobby Bonds, who spent over a third of his life in the Giants organization.
Take notes fourteenandahalfback fans, that is how to welcome back the greatest player of his generation.
As for the game itself, hats off to Kevin Correia for another solid outing. Correia has pitched very well for the Giants in very limited playing time. If Correia can be a productive starter next year it will make the departure of Kurt Ainsworth and the possible departure of Sidney Ponson a little easier to take.
Midseason Form
Speaking of the Ponson trade, Damian Moss hasn't missed a beat with his new team. He's 1-3 with a 4.37 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .283 BAA and has 22 BBs in 35 IP. He's also averaging over 100 pitches per appearance. In his most recent start, Moss threw more balls than strikes.
If Moss had continued to be inconsistent with the Giants, he could've been left off the post season roster and been non-tendered at the end of the year.
Kudos to Brian Sabean for trading Moss when he did and getting something of value in return.
In a semi-related story, Beatagan made a great move the other day, sending Jeff Conine to the Marlins and getting a nice minor league pitcher in return. I bring this up because Conine is signed through 2005 and having a 1B/corner outfielder type signed for the next 2 years means that it is even more likely that the Marlins will non tender Derek Lee at the end of the year. Lee sure would look nice in a Giants uniform next year.
Bitter, Much?
The Giants are on a win streak and the division is wrapped up, so Giants fans really don't have anything substantive to complain, moan, or whine about.
If you're looking for something to be bitter about, join me in still being pissed that the Giants blew a 8 run lead in the 6th inning in a game at Philadelphia on April 26, 1993 and eventually lost the game 9-8.
DAMN YOU GINO MINUTELLI!
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Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Fun in the Sun
The weekend series against the thirteenandahalfbacks was a blast. Needless to say, watching my team beat the thirteenandahalfbacks, shut down the AZ offense, and see a game winning hit from Superman was awesome.
It was also cool to see a fair number of Giants fans in Arizona during the weekend. It was nothing like the thousands of us in San Diego for the 4th of July weekend, but there were a good number of us there.
We made lots of noise when Bonds got his hit off Mike Myers. In fact as I was standing and cheering, I looked very closely at Myers, and I could see a can of gas strapped to his left arm. BOOM! Mike Myers - bringing new meaning to the term "sidearm."
The Rookies
Here's another reason to like Jesse Foppert and Jerome Williams. Before the game on Monday, Foppert and Williams were playing catch in right field. When they finished, they came over to the crowd and signed autographs for about 15 minutes for all of the Giants fans in attendance. Just thought I'd pass that along.
Juxstaposition of the Year
During Monday's game there were a bunch of crickets in our section (seriously). The first few thousand chrips were kind of annoying, but then as I watched Junior Spivey strike out to the sound of echoing cricket chirps, I realized that the chirping crickets were actually providing brilliant commentary on the state of the thirteenandahalfbacks offense.
The weekend series against the thirteenandahalfbacks was a blast. Needless to say, watching my team beat the thirteenandahalfbacks, shut down the AZ offense, and see a game winning hit from Superman was awesome.
It was also cool to see a fair number of Giants fans in Arizona during the weekend. It was nothing like the thousands of us in San Diego for the 4th of July weekend, but there were a good number of us there.
We made lots of noise when Bonds got his hit off Mike Myers. In fact as I was standing and cheering, I looked very closely at Myers, and I could see a can of gas strapped to his left arm. BOOM! Mike Myers - bringing new meaning to the term "sidearm."
The Rookies
Here's another reason to like Jesse Foppert and Jerome Williams. Before the game on Monday, Foppert and Williams were playing catch in right field. When they finished, they came over to the crowd and signed autographs for about 15 minutes for all of the Giants fans in attendance. Just thought I'd pass that along.
Juxstaposition of the Year
During Monday's game there were a bunch of crickets in our section (seriously). The first few thousand chrips were kind of annoying, but then as I watched Junior Spivey strike out to the sound of echoing cricket chirps, I realized that the chirping crickets were actually providing brilliant commentary on the state of the thirteenandahalfbacks offense.
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